The Ohio Department of Agriculture has put a stop to plans by Hi-Q Egg Products to build a controversial 6-million-hen capacity battery-cage egg factory farm in Central Ohio. According to an article in Farm and Dairy, the company was denied the necessary permit for failing to provide a report on the impact the massive factory farm would have on the surrounding community.
The Hi-Q egg factory farm would have reportedly produced at least 74,000 tons of chicken manure and 23 million gallons of manure-contaminated egg-wash water each year, creating an environmental and public food safety risk. Additionally, the facility would have forced millions of hens to endure lives of misery inside small, barren, wire battery cages stacked in rows inside filthy windowless sheds.
In late 2010, dozens of Mercy For Animals members from across Ohio converged at a hearing held at the Ohio Department of Agriculture to protest construction of the facility. Although not permitted to make a public comment, the group boldly wore “Ohioans Against Hi-Q Egg Farm” t-shirts to stage a silent “stand-in” inside the public hearing, urging the state to deny the factory farm permits needed to begin construction.
In an agreement reached last year by then Governor Ted Strickland and leaders of both the animal protection and farming communities, the former Governor and Ohio Farm Bureau pledged to work to ensure that operating permits for Hi-Q were not granted. Given growing consumer and legislative concern for the welfare of farmed animals, the decision to prohibit Hi-Q from building a new facility in Ohio sends a clear message that egg factory farms are bad for animals, the environment and neighboring communities.
While this is a huge victory, there is still much work to be done. One of the best actions consumers can take to prevent animal cruelty and reduce the environmental and human health toll posed by factory farms is to adopt a healthy and compassionate vegan diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.
The Hi-Q egg factory farm would have reportedly produced at least 74,000 tons of chicken manure and 23 million gallons of manure-contaminated egg-wash water each year, creating an environmental and public food safety risk. Additionally, the facility would have forced millions of hens to endure lives of misery inside small, barren, wire battery cages stacked in rows inside filthy windowless sheds.
In late 2010, dozens of Mercy For Animals members from across Ohio converged at a hearing held at the Ohio Department of Agriculture to protest construction of the facility. Although not permitted to make a public comment, the group boldly wore “Ohioans Against Hi-Q Egg Farm” t-shirts to stage a silent “stand-in” inside the public hearing, urging the state to deny the factory farm permits needed to begin construction.
In an agreement reached last year by then Governor Ted Strickland and leaders of both the animal protection and farming communities, the former Governor and Ohio Farm Bureau pledged to work to ensure that operating permits for Hi-Q were not granted. Given growing consumer and legislative concern for the welfare of farmed animals, the decision to prohibit Hi-Q from building a new facility in Ohio sends a clear message that egg factory farms are bad for animals, the environment and neighboring communities.
While this is a huge victory, there is still much work to be done. One of the best actions consumers can take to prevent animal cruelty and reduce the environmental and human health toll posed by factory farms is to adopt a healthy and compassionate vegan diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.